Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Ferenc Burka Jr.

 

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

15 years

Years Imprisoned:

6

Year Crime:

1999

Year Convicted:

2002

Year Cleared:

2005

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Hungary

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Ferenc Burka Jr. was co-defendant of his father, Ferenc Burka Sr. Both men were wrongly convicted in April 2002 of the March 4, 1999 robbery and murder of a man in Ujszentmargita, a village in northeastern Hungary. Ferenc Burka Jr. was sentenced to 15 years in prison and his father to 13 years. The father and son were taken into custody on March 16, 1999 and held without bail. Their sentences began on that day. Their convictions were quashed on appeal by the Szeged Judicial Court in September 2003 and a retrial was ordered. In March 2005 the men were released on bail pending their retrial. On July 9, 2005 they were acquitted after their retrial and released from custody."

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness testimony and prosecutor speculation about circumstantial evidence

Innocence Proved By:

"Conviction quashed on appeal by the Szeged Judicial Court in September 2003 and a retrial was ordered. In March 2005 the men were released on bail pending their retrial. On July 9, 2005 they were acquitted after their retrial and released from custody."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

28

Age When Released:

34

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Hungarian Court Acquits Two Romani Men After 2100 Days in Prison, Romsky Informacni Servis, Budapest, August 1, 2005"

Information Location 1:

http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=servis/z_en_2005_0193

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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